Revelation chapter 19. My subject this evening is Christ
the Man of War. Let's read together Revelation
19, verses 11 through 16. I saw heaven opened, and behold,
a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful
and True. and in righteousness he doth
judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of and the
armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty and he
hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of
Kings and Lord of Lords." Now, in this portion of Scripture,
as in many others, our Lord Jesus is pictured as a mighty warrior,
a great captain, at the forefront of a mighty army, leading them
to battle, but leading them with absolute confidence. You'll recall
in Exodus 15 that when Moses saw Pharaoh and his armies standing
or drowned in the Red Sea and Israel standing safe upon the
shores of deliverance, Moses sang that song of redemption
and said, the Lord is a man of war. And our Lord has proved
himself to be so throughout the history of his church. In the
Old Testament, in all the deliverances of the children of Israel whom
the Lord God had chosen, he demonstrated his power and his absolute rule
of all things as a man of war to deliver his people. At last
the time came when our Savior came into this world, and he
came here to save his people from their sins, and the means
by which he would do so is the fulfilling of that prophecy in
the scriptures that declare that he shall crush the serpent's
head. Like a mighty warrior, he would
come and take Satan, the enemy of our souls, and crush the serpent's
head, accomplishing his will and our deliverance from the
hands of God's law and from the bondage and tyranny of Satan,
who ruled over us according to his will in the days of our iniquity. While our Lord lived in this
world as a man, he met Satan in the wilderness of temptation.
and as a man he overcame him with the word of God. He met
him again in the garden of Gethsemane as a man, and suffered much in
his hands, but again he overcame him according to Holy Scripture.
And our Lord Jesus at last came to the cross, and as he hung
upon the cursed tree While everyone around him thought he was defeated,
while everyone around him imagined that this was finally the conquest
of Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus was then and there accomplishing
conquest by his own hand. He said, now is the prince of
this world cast out. Now it's come to pass I've done
what I came to do, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men unto me." Now our Savior has accomplished our
redemption. He has vanquished Satan. He has
vanquished our sin. He has delivered us from the
curse of the law. He's ascended up into heaven.
He's seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. He led
captivity captive, and yet he's still a man of war. And he's
described as such in this text of scripture. He rides forth
in majesty, power, and great glory, conquering and to conquer. Now, the reason this is given
to us in this passage of Scripture is to encourage our confidence
and to encourage our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
Christ Jesus has a controversy with his creatures. He has a
controversy in this world, and the controversy is very clearly
laid out in the scriptures. The controversy is his own lordship,
his kingly office. Will men or will they not? Will angels or will they not? Will the creation or will it
not bow to and acknowledge the rule and the dominion of Jesus
Christ as Lord? That's the issue. That's always
been the issue. That was the issue back when
Satan fell. That was the issue in the garden.
That's the issue today. And the issue is not at all in
question. The fact is plainly revealed
Everyone will bow to the rule of Christ, either by the irresistible
power of his grace or by the irresistible power of his wrath. King Jesus will defeat all his
enemies and cause all his enemies to bow before his throne. You
and I, our sons, will one day bow to Jesus Christ. We will
either bow before him in the humiliation of repentance and
seek his grace, or we will bow before him in the terror of his
judgment and be cast away from the presence of his face. but
bow before him we will. Our Lord God said to his son,
when he finished the work of redemption, set thou on my right
hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Now that means all
his foes will become his footstool. In our text, John sees heaven
opened. Not a window, not a door, but
heaven itself is opened. And the Lord Jesus comes forth
riding upon a white charger like a mighty man of war. Now tonight
I want us to look at this picture which John gives us and pray
that God the Holy Spirit who revealed it and gave it to John
will teach us its meaning. I want us to notice four things
in these verses of scripture. The passage principally deals
with the Lord Jesus as I'll principally deal with him in the text. First,
in verses 11 through 13, we're given a picture of Christ, the
man of war. John had seen the Lord Jesus
in his humiliation. John even leaned upon his breast
at the Last Supper as a beloved disciple. He saw the Lord Jesus
in the Garden of Gethsemane when he cried under God the Father,
and at last, sweat as it were, drops of blood pouring from his
skin, falling to the ground, and he cried, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me. He saw the Son of God betrayed
with the kiss of Judas. He saw him in the judgment hall,
and he saw him when he was crucified upon the cursed tree. But now
John sees Christ in his glory as the captain of our salvation,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And he sees a warfare,
a warfare taking place upon the earth. It was a warfare going
on in John's day. It's the same warfare going on
in our day. It is a spiritual conflict between
the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Truth and
error are engaged against one another. The kingdom of light
and the kingdom of darkness are involved in a war. Now, we see
this warfare often with the eye of our own carnal sense, and
we tremble. We often see the warfare with
great concern. I was talking to Alan and Betty
the other day while they were visiting. I forgot one of the
days in one of the conversations, and we were talking about this
very thing, the terrible darkness of our day and the terrible perversion
of our day, but let's not look at it with the eye of carnal
sense and carnal reason. It'll do us good to see this
warfare as John here describes it from heaven's vantage point.
Looking not out at things as we see them, but looking at things
as they really are as the Lord God describes them from heaven's
viewpoint. When John sees this warfare and
describes it from heaven's viewpoint, he writes this vision down so
that we might see it clearly and take courage as we go about
the business of following Christ in this warfare. Now, if we are
soldiers of Christ, enlisted under the banner of Jesus Christ,
pledged to the advancement of gospel truth, sworn to precious
blood atonement and the glorious doctrines of the gospel. If we
are enlisted and pledged soldiers to the honor of Jesus Christ,
it'll do us good to stand above the clouds of this world and
to see this warfare from heaven's viewpoint. Though the battle
must rage upon the earth until Armageddon is over, there is
no cause for us to fear. Though it sometimes appears that
we make little advance, and though it sometimes appears that there's
little success, and though it sometimes appears nobody pays
any attention to what we say or what we do, there's no cause
for trembling, no cause for fear. The ark of God is safe. The cause
of Christ is secure. The church of the living God
will overcome her enemies, and truth shall prevail at last.
Now, in order to stir our hearts up to steadfastness, to stir
us up with some zeal in the thick of this battle, we are given
this vision of the triumph and the glory of Christ, his gospel,
and his church, as we are led forth by this mighty man of war
who is certain to conquer over his enemies. The greater part
of the vision, as I said, deals with Christ, and then there are
a couple of encouraging words concerning us and the battle
itself. I want you to notice this man of war and notice these
things concerning him. Our mighty Savior comes forth
in this text riding upon a white horse. John said, I saw heaven
opened, and behold, a white horse and he that sat upon him. Now,
what is that picture? Obviously, the language is symbolical. I cannot imagine anyone with
spiritual discernment even thinking about interpreting this passage
of Scripture in a literal sense. Why would the Son of God come
riding through the air on a white stag? That just doesn't make
much sense. And yet multitudes of people
imagine that one of these days the Lord Jesus is going to split
the sky and He's going to come riding back down to the earth
on a white horse. Obviously, that's not what the
passage means. The passage is a symbolical picture,
but it is a symbolical picture full of meaning. This white horse
suggests four things particularly, and you can look at them in the
scriptures. I'll give you some references. We might look at
a couple of them. Christ Jesus rides upon a white horse as the
leader of a great army because he is highly honored in heaven. That one who rides upon the white
horse rides at the head of the army. He rides as the commander-in-chief. He rides as the one who leads
the way. Mr. Lee was always as he led
the Confederate armies, the armies of the South, he always rode
his white horse traveler. Wherever you see a picture of
Lee during those days of the Civil War, you'll see him on
that white horse, because that man sitting on the white horse,
he leads all the rest of the army. And our Lord Jesus is here
described as a great man of war, a great captain of salvation,
riding forth on a white horse, because he has all the honor. and all the responsibility. Everything's
on his shoulders. God the Father honors him. He's
given him a name that's above every name. All the angels of
heaven honor him, and all his saints, both in heaven and upon
the earth, honor him and say, he's precious. He's the only
one worthy of honor. This white horse also represents
our Savior's power and dominion as our great captain, our great
man of war. Turn over to Job chapter 39.
Job chapter 39, and look at this. Though the producers of cinema
in Hollywood, I rather doubt ever read Job 39 to find out
how they ought to picture things. When I was a boy growing up,
and some of you can relate to it, I guess things might have
changed now, I don't see much now. When I was a boy growing
up, If there was a battle going on, you could always identify
the fellow who's coming out on top. He was the one riding the
white horse. You could always identify him.
He was always wearing the white hat and riding the white horse.
Always. Look here in Job chapter 39, in verse 19. This white horse is a symbol
of power. Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with
thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as
a grasshopper? Can you frighten the horse? The
glory of his nostrils is terrible. he pawth in the valley, and rejoiceth
in his strength. He goeth on to meet armed men,
he mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted, neither turneth he
back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him,
the glittering sphere in the shield, he swalloweth the ground
with a fierceness and rage, neither believeth he that it is the sound
of the trumpet." In other words, the horse is a symbol of power,
the horse is a symbol of strength, and this quite horse-pictured
in Revelation, with our Lord Jesus riding upon Him, is a picture
of our Lord Jesus coming forth with great honor, but having
that honor with all power. He has all power in heaven and
in earth to accomplish His sovereign will in all things. Now, this
one who leads the army there, This one who leads the battle,
this one who is at the forefront, whose battle it is, he has all
power and all honor to do all things according to his will.
The white horse is also a symbol of speed and swiftness. You can read Zechariah 10, verse
11, and there you see the horse represented and the swiftness
and speed with which God carries the calls in the name of his
people for his own glory. The word of the Lord runs swiftly. He only wills it. He only wills
it. And his gospel is spread under
the uttermost parts of the earth. You reckon you really believe
that? You reckon you really believe that? He only wills it. And his gospel is spread to the
uttermost parts of the earth. We don't have it. We sometimes
act as though This thing's just too hard for God to accomplish.
We act as though it's just not quite feasible for us to imagine
that God can, with His will, open every door in every place
in all this world. But it's just that easy for Him.
It's that easy for Him. Doors closed to us, doors closed
before us, and we get frustrated, and we get a little Doubtful
and hesitant and we think when nothing succeeded so far. We're
just not going to we're not going to get anything accomplished
It looks like looks like the days are of languishing are forever
upon us. Oh God has but to will it I told
someone the other day Throughout history. This is a sobering sobering
word for us. That's a sobering word God gives
the light of the gospel, buddy He gives it, and when men despise
it, he takes it away, just to see this. Read your history books. Don't even read your history
books, just read the scriptures. He'd free them! Join to his idols,
free them alone. What's going on over in Palestine?
God gave them life, they despised the life, God withdrew the life. That's what happens. And God
has, in his good grace and properness, given us in this land such great
light such great light in the gospel of his free grace in the
gospel of the glory of his son the lord jesus christ and men
have taken the light and despised it by and large let us not let
us not be part of them But this nation by and large, I'm talking
about the religious world around us, has despised the light of
God's free grace, the gospel of his glory in Christ Jesus.
But God's opening some doors. I mentioned this the other day,
but I'll be mentioning it several times. The translation of these
commentaries, Henry's in Russian. Translation of the book on the
church into Korean. I don't know what God's doing. But when God
closes one door, he'll open another one. I guarantee you, he will
maintain his witness. He will maintain a witness for
himself. And if he's pleased to, if he's
pleased to, he can just will it, Bob, and open a door for
us to reach everybody in this community and not just here.
He can open a door for us to reach every person in this world
with the gospel of his grace. He can do it. I didn't suggest
or imply he's going to save everybody, but he can open any door he will,
any door he will. He sets upon a white horse. The
word of the Lord runs swiftly. The church of our God is made
swift, swift as a running horse for the spread of the gospel.
And then this white horse also symbolizes and represents certain
and sure victory. the certain and sure victory
of the one who sits upon it. Look in chapter six of Revelation
in verse two. And I saw and behold a white
horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and the crown was
given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. He shall prevail, He shall conquer,
He shall have His way, He shall rule and at last accomplish His
purpose in all things with all people, prevailing over every
man, either in grace or in wrath. He will prevail. Now John saw
Christ, the man of war, full of power, sitting upon a white
horse, riding forth, conquering and to conquer. But he saw something
more. He saw that this man of war is
altogether good. He describes the Lord Jesus riding
forth, conquering and to conquer. And he saw the character of Christ
as well. It's one thing to see that there
is one with great power. that he shall have his way, that
none can stand against him. Behold, here's something else.
This one who always has his way is altogether good." Look how
John describes him. He says that this one who sat
upon the horse is called faithful and true. In righteousness he
doth judge and make war. The Lord Jesus Christ is not
only vested with total power to rule, but he's perfectly good. He's called faithful and true.
Faithful and true in all his character. Faithful and true
in all he does. Faithful and true in all his
ways. He's faithful and he's true.
Whatever he does, he does in faithfulness to his Father, in
faithfulness to his people, in faithfulness to his covenant
engagement. Whatever he does, he does according to truth. That
is, according to equity, according to that which is right, whatever
he does. I said he sometimes takes the
light away and establishes it in other places, and he does. Somebody says, well, what about
our children and grandchildren? Whatever he does with our children
and grandchildren, he does in faithfulness and truth, whatever
he does. What about my family? Whatever
he does with your family or my family, or with the family of
some fellow down the road, our families have no claim on God.
Whatever he does, he does in faithfulness and in truth. In
all things, he's faithful and true. Even with regard to his
enemies, he will fulfill every threat of punishment, and he
will be faithful and true in everything he said. His warfare
is carried on in righteousness. The text says, in righteousness
he doth judge and make war. Mr. Spurgeon said, Christ's kingdom
needs no deception. The plainest speech and the clearest
truth, these are the weapons of our warfare. I hear of preachers,
not occasionally, I see it myself and I hear of it even more often.
Preachers attempting to bring about success in preaching by
compromising truth, attempting to bring about success by incorporating
the methods and the tricks and the conniving ways of the world,
attempting to make the word and the church and the truth of God
successful by appealing to the natural inclinations and desires
of people. Now listen to me. You listen
to me. The kingdom of God will not be established by the arm
of the flesh. You got that? It won't be. It
won't be. Now, we can have all kinds of
programs, and we can do the same thing everybody else in the world's
doing. We can do it. We can have our ball teams, and
we can have our special programs for this group,
special programs for that group, and we can find out. You know
what? Go over and visit Bobby and Judy and say, what would
you like to have in a church? What would you like to have in a church?
Oh, well, we can do that. We can do that. And that's what
the whole of the religious world does. What do you want in a church?
Oh, I want something for my kid. Well, we'll give him something.
I want something for my single son. He's having a tough time.
Well, we'll give him something. I want something for my aging
daughter. I'm afraid she's never going
to get her husband. We need something to help singles
get together. Well, we'll give something for
that. What I need is something to kindly entertain myself because
I'm not much in tune to preaching. I don't care much for being instructed
in the Scriptures. I want something that's more
appealing to me. What we need, because everybody's
got family trouble, we need you to do some counseling. We need
you to get into some counseling. And everybody, you know, that
appeals to everybody. Everybody's got trouble. What
the church of God must do, and what many women must have, is
the faithful, true declaration of God's word. No more and no
less. And I make this promise to you.
I made it to you. Nearly 13 years ago, Bob Lindsey,
buddy, sitting at my table. If I come preach to you, that's
all we'll do. That's all we'll do. And I make this promise to
you again. That's all we'll do, is the faithful
declaration of God's word. And when it's not working, it's
working exactly like God had it to work. Exactly as God would
have it to work. Look, look what's going on around
you. It's working exactly like God had it to work. And that
suits me all right, Muriel. That suits me all right. Whatever
God does is what I want done. Whatever man does is what I want
us to avoid. That's right. All right. His
name is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and
makes war. Our Lord defeated Satan by bringing
in an everlasting righteousness. He conquers the hearts of men
by the preaching of the gospel of righteousness. And he will
judge every creature in perfect righteousness in the last day.
And then John says his eyes, his eyes were as a flame of fire. You see these horror movies,
all the vampires got flaming eyes. Well, that's not what he's
describing here. His eyes are a flame of fire.
indicating his purity, his absolute purity, and also indicating that
he has discernment so that he discerns the hearts of men, and
he understands the plots and ploys of his enemies, and he
has eyes of fire to consume all who oppose him, and eyes of fire
to melt the hearts of his children to follow after him. Eyes of
fire. Those were the eyes that Peter
saw when the Savior turned and looked on him, and his heart
was melted like that, like wax before a blast furnace, his heart
was melted before the Son of God. And our mighty Defender
is crowned the King of the Universe. He had eyes of fire, and on his
head were many crowns. I preached a sermon to you several
years ago concerning these crowns, and the many crowns in the scriptures
that are spoken of as sitting on the head of Christ. Let me
just give you three that encompasses them all, these three. He has
the crown of all creation. The Father has made him the firstborn
of every creature. He's made him the head of all
things. And when it says he is the firstborn of every creature,
and he is that firstborn one The first begotten of the dead
is talking about him being given the place of prominence and preeminence. He's the beginning of the creation
of God. All the creation of God comes
from him, all the creation of God is ruled by him, and all
the creation of God shall ultimately give praise to him. He has got
the crown of creation, and he has the crown of providence.
To this end, Christ both died and revived, that he might be
Lord both of the dead and That means, and you can find it in
Romans 14, 9, that means, Bob, that he rules over those who
live spiritually, and he rules over those who are dead spiritually. He's Lord over them all. He rules
over those who live physically, and he rules over those who are
dead physically. He rules everything and everybody
in his absolute providence. And he has the crown of all grace.
Turn to John 5. Let's look at this one. John
chapter 5 and verse 21, "...the Lord God has given to His Son,
our Mediator, all power and all authority, has made Him to be
the head over all things, so that everything is done by Him
in creation, in providence, and in grace." John 5, 21, "...as
the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth Does he? Does
God give life to dead folks? Sure he does. Many times he has. Does the Father quicken the dead
and raise them up? Oh yes. All right. Even so the
Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should
honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth
not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath seen him."
Look back in John chapter 3, verse 35. The Father loveth the
Son, and giveth all things into his hand. He wears the crown
of creation, providence, and grace. This, then, is the character
of this great, glorious man of war, the Lord Jesus Christ. faithfulness
and truth, righteousness, purity and omniscience, and absolute
sovereignty. Now look at his glorious vesture.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. What does that mean? Can you
imagine, if you try to interpret this thing in a literal sense,
can you imagine A man appearing glorious and beautiful who was
covered with blood? Not at all. Not at all. That'd
be obnoxious. That'd be hideous to look at.
I admire all his works. I have no quarrel whatsoever
with anything revealed in this book about Jesus Christ or what
he does. None whatsoever. In fact, I adore
it all. I adore it all. But I love above
everything else the fact that his whole being has been dipped
in blood. That is, I adore above everything
else the fact that all that Christ is and all that Christ does,
he is and he does by virtue of his substitutionary atonement
on our behalf. Everything. When I think about
our Lord, When I think about this one who is my God and my
King, I love to see him dipped in blood. Is he a shepherd? Then he's a blood-red shepherd.
Is he a prophet? He's a blood-red prophet. Is
he a king? He's a blood-red king. Is he
a friend? He is a blood-red friend. All
that he is to my soul, he is to my soul by virtue of his blood
atonement, his satisfaction for sin on my behalf. Christ is seen
best and seen in his truest glory when he's seen in the sin-atoning
sacrifice that he has made on behalf of God's elect. The greatest
thing Jesus Christ ever did is this. The greatest thing he ever
did is that he laid down his life for us. It's the greatest
thing he ever did. His blood is our life. His blood
is the life and the power of the gospel. His blood is his
glory. His blood is the beauty by which
he wins our hearts. His blood is the terror by which
he judges his enemies. That's the reason we constantly
preach the blood. Precious, precious, precious
is the blood of Christ. And when John saw the Lord Jesus
in this glorious character as the man of war, he saw one more
thing about him. And he gives us this when he
says he saw his name. Now John seems to contradict
himself. He says in verse 12, he had a name written
that no man knew but he himself. And then in verse 13, he says
his name is called the word of God. But there's no contradiction. John is simply saying that what
the Lord Jesus himself declared is so. No man knoweth the Son,
but the Father, and he to whom the Father will reveal Him. We
know that Christ is the Word of God. He is the embodiment,
the revelation of the glorious triune God. He's the Word of
God. If God will give me some liberty
to do so, I think I'll preach on this. either sometime Sunday
or Tuesday next week, Christ the Word of God. That simply
means that Christ is the expression of God. The embodiment of God. The speech of God. The revelation
of God. The manifestation of God. So
that all that God is, and all that you know of God, is Jesus
Christ. Got that? He's the Word of God.
And yet, having said that, knowing that he is the word of God, we
recognize such mysterious majesty and majestic mystery in him that
we readily acknowledge we know nothing of him in reality. We have to plead ignorance. I
know that Jesus Christ is God and man in one glorious person. But buddy, that doesn't come
near describing his person. That doesn't come near describing
the glory of his person. I know that Jesus Christ loves
his people with an everlasting love. A love that is without
cause, without beginning, without change, and without end. But
that doesn't come near describing the love of God to my soul. I
know that Jesus Christ has redeemed us with the great wondrous transaction
that took place at Calvary wherein God made him to be sin and rewarded
him for sin and made us to be righteousness and shall reward
us for righteousness. But what redemption is, I have
never yet begun to describe, never yet begun to understand,
much less describe it. I know that the Lord Jesus Christ
has in himself infinite treasures of grace, but oh, what the riches
of those treasures are, my mind cannot imagine. I know that he
is our peace, but the book says, Mark, that that peace is a peace
that passes understanding. It baffles reason. It baffles intellect. It passes understanding. This
is Christ, our mighty conqueror. He's exalted with power and glory. He's faithful, true, and righteous,
pure, sovereign, and good. He's the Word of God. But then
in verse 14, we see the armies which follow him. And the armies
which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean. These are they which follow the
Lamb whithersoever he goeth. Now the church of God is here
described as an advancing army following behind the Lord Jesus
Christ, the man of war. John calls our attention to these
four things about God's church. Let me give them to you very
briefly. The church of God marches as many armies under one great
captain. The church of God is one. And
though the church of God is one in Christ, She is scattered throughout
the world and scattered throughout the ages of time. And so she
appears as many armies in the ages of time and in this world.
At any one time, in any one place, she appears to be few and weak,
but the church of God is many and strong. I'll come to that another time,
but we need to get hold of that. The Church of God is considerably
bigger than what's sitting here. It's considerably bigger. Church
of God's considerably bigger than these congregations that
we know, with whom we have precious fellowship, considerably bigger.
She appears at any time and in any place to be weak and strong,
so that, like Elijah, sometimes God's prophets sit down and begin
to lament and say, I only am left God says, I still got 7,000
men who haven't bowed the knee to Baal. The church of God is
always many and strong. Always. The armies or the battalions
of this kingdom are all engaged under the same banner, the cross
of Christ. They all fight under the direction
of the same King, Jesus Christ himself. And they all fight for
the same cause. That's the glory of God. Now,
all who follow Christ, John tells us, secondly, are mounted upon
white horses. What does that mean? Here he
is mounted on a white horse. He's the commander. He's the
captain. He's the chief. He's the man
of war. Why is it that all folks in the
armies are mounted on white horses? Because he's telling us, as he
fares, so they fare. For they are all one with him. These white horses mean the very
same thing as when we see Christ himself sitting upon the white
horse. They mean that this church and
all the people in it have high honor in the sight of God. They
mean that this church and all the people in it have great power,
for the very power of Christ is theirs. These white horses
mean that all the church and all the people in it have wonderful
speed in accomplishing the purpose of God. And they mean that all
the church and all the people in it have certain victories
set before them. And then thirdly, John tells
us that all of those who follow Christ are well armed. But wait
a minute, Pastor, I don't see any sword in their hands. I don't
see any spear or any bow. I don't see any gun, I don't
see any cannons, I don't see any arms about them. Well, they
don't have even a derringer hidden somewhere in case of an emergency.
Don't have one tucked away somewhere. But they are clothed in fine
linen, white and clean. Their only armor is the bright
white righteousness of Christ himself. That's their strength,
their defense, their refuge, and their shield. And though
we march with Christ through this world in hostile enemy territory,
we are never the ones who are engaged in the battle. Never. Never. Brother Henry asked me about
a fellow the other day. We were chatting on the phone.
Asked if I knew him. Some fellow said, I'm glad to
see you've got some fellows down there fighting Arminianism. We're
not fighting Arminianism. We're not fighting Arminianism
anymore, we're fighting papacy. What we're seeking to do is preach
Christ crucified. And the battle's not ours. Remember
the message that Brother Watson brought here out of 2 Chronicles
20? When Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord God said, the battle's
not yours, it's the Lord's. You just stand still and watch
me do my business. The battle's not ours. The responsibility
for the battle is not ours. The plot of the battle is not
ours. And the outcome of the battle is not ours. It's God's.
It's God's. We're just following on. That's
all. We're just following Him. We are engaged in the warfare,
but the battle is the Lord's. And these armies following this
mighty man of war are assured of victory. As he shall conquer,
so they shall conquer. Until our captain is taken, not
one of his recruits can fall. Our Lord Jesus says concerning
his church, the gates of hell shall not prevail against him. Let me take just a minute here. In all the years I've lived,
I've never read about, nor have I ever seen portrayed, any army
advancing against another army carrying gates. Does that make
any sense to you? He's not talking about the gates
of hell coming against us. That's not what he's talking
about. When our Lord says the gates of hell shall not prevail
against his church, he's saying you go ahead and attack Satan's
citadel. The gates will fall. The gates
of hell will not stand against the march of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. wherever he leads, the gates
of hell will fall. That's what he's saying. Now
thirdly, I want you to see the warfare that our Savior wages.
Look at verse 15. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. He
shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. What is this
warfare? It can't be a war without a weapon,
and yet, as we look through the ranks of the armies, not one
person among them was carrying a weapon. But there is a weapon,
a sword in the mouth of the man of war, the Lord Jesus. The sword
by which the Lord conquers the hearts of men is the gospel of
the grace of God. We preach it. And we preach it,
and we preach it, and we preach it, and we preach it, and we
preach it. And when God's pleased to do so, he sends it home to
the heart. And it pierces to the dividing asunder, soul and
spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. If our Lord Jesus does not subdue
men by the gospel of his grace, he will subdue them with the
rod of his justice and crush them in his fierce anger. And
in the end, the Lord Jesus will tread his enemies in the winepress
of the fierceness of the wrath of God. One last thing. In verse 16, John shows us the
reason for this warfare. And he hath on his vesture and
on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. That's the cause of the whole
battle. That's the cause of the whole battle. He demands that
everybody bow to him. He demands it. He demands it. Now I'm talking to my family
and my friends here. I suppose every adult in this
building has professed faith in Christ. But what he demands is not a
profession of faith. What he demands is not a good
religious life. What he demands is not that you
not get out here and run around with the immoral folks. That's
not what he demands. What he demands of you and me
is surrender to his rule. That's what he demands. And until
he gets that from you, you're going to be at war with him.
You're going to be at war with him. You're going to have to
surrender to the rule of Christ. And if you don't surrender, he
will make you bow before his throne and acknowledge him as
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So I call on you to surrender.
I call on you to bow to his throne. Give up to the rule of the Son
of God. not a more blessed thing in the
world. Yes, now. Not a more blessed thing in the
world. And I say to you, children of God, as these men have prayed
both in the office and here, let us march on in confidence
through this world on to victory, for our labor is not in vain.
Christ, the man of war, will at last win the day And we in
him shall conquer over all our enemies by the power of his grace. Amen.